Studio denies ‘Ghostbusters 3’ will be an animated movie

Sony says a new live-action film is still in development despite Bill Murray's lack of involvement

Sony Pictures has denied that Ghostbusters 3 could be made into an animated movie.

The new Ghostbusters flick has been stuck in so-called “development hell” for over a decade and Bill Murray has declined to reprise his key role as Dr Peter Venkman. Horror website Bloody Disgusting reported yesterday (February 27) that Sony is now “looking to do Ghostbusters 3 as an animated film”.

However, the studio has since told ComingSoon.net this rumour is untrue and confirmed that a new live-action Ghostbusters film is still in development.

Last October (2012), it was reported that director Ivan Reitman was planning to shoot Ghostbusters 3 this summer. Despite Murray’s absence, original stars Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis are both fully on board, while Sigourney Weaver and Rick Moranis have previously expressed an interest in returning too.

Then, in December, Aykroyd hinted that Ghostbusters 3 could be the first in a whole new series of movies – a surprising suggestion given the third film’s incredibly slow progress.